


untitled Ducks! AU

by metencephalon



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Ducks! AU, Kidfic, M/M, animal direction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-27
Updated: 2013-12-27
Packaged: 2018-01-06 07:06:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1103909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/metencephalon/pseuds/metencephalon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>harry and louis are ducks and then things happen</p>
            </blockquote>





	untitled Ducks! AU

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aliferuined](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aliferuined/gifts).



Harry was his life mate.

That was the first thing Louis knew when he first set eyes upon the shiny green of the single fresh feathers that adorned Harrys head. Huddled close to his flock to gather some of the warmth there, the drake sat with his flippers tucked tightly under his body, eyes half-closed. Louis would say he was the most beautiful drake he’d ever seen, but the rugged look around Harrys duck bill spoke of recent fights.

Fights over someone special? A hen close to his flock, most certainly. Louis sadly nabbed at the water. He shook his tail feathers to compose himself and lazily tread the water to push himself forward; unaware of how close he came to ‘Harrys’ side of the pond. He just wanted to get closer, just look a little bit longer at his drake of unfortunate choosing.

Judging from his appeareance, Harry had hit maturity very early, because Louis was a duck who never forgot a thing and he was  _pretty_  sure Harry was at least 6 months younger than him; maybe even a whole year! But Harry had never mated another duck before. Louis didn’t know why. He almost dreaded the thought of when it finally happened, because he knew it was going to happen soon and the thought always made him croak sadly into his wings at night.

-

Harrys Mama Duck had nudged him for days now, to go find a hen to mate with, because ‘ _that’s what a drake is supposed to do, sweetheart’, b_ ut Harry would avert his eyes and try to shut out her voice. The thought made him sick, he felt doing that what drakes were supposed to just wasn’t a thing he could ever do. 

Five or more males would advance a hen at once, all beautiful colors on display, puffing out their enormous chests and tilting their heads in the sunlight to show off the rich green colour of their heads; then they would attack the others to chase them off their desired mate of choice and quack as loudly as they could, flapping their wings to make them appear as big as possible; sometimes it turned into a right riot and everyone would stare!   
Then the winner would brutally mount the poor hen, because that was their  _prize_ : the right to mate, no matter how hard the female duck struggled to throw them off.   
Harry had heard stories of hens  _dying_  that way; hens fleeing to the pond in distress and drowning while the drake ruthlessly rutted on their backs, carelessly pushing their weight onto them. 

So loud and brutal, Harry couldn’t think of anything he’d like to do less. Besides, it wasn’t like he never thought of  _being_  mated to  _someone_. But that someone… was a drake. A beautiful -if loud- drake named Louis. Who was currently floating in the pond just a few feet away from Harrys flock, busy with snatching something edible in the water.

Harry opened his eyes a bit more, zoning in on the fascinating green color of Louis’ head plumage. It looked so soft, so made to rub against. Harrys eyes drooped with longing, his heart aching. He wanted nothing more than to waddle over and dive into the pond next to the graceful young drake. Harry croaked sadly. He knew he wasn’t suited well enough; too clumsy, his colorful plumage too spotty and ugly; almost a duckling still.

What would someone like  _Louis_  even want to do with him? Nothing.

But Harry wasn’t an ordinary duck, he knew. Despite the odds, he would never give up on his dream.

-

The rain was pouring down hard upon their park. Not unlike anything the flocks at the pond had endured before, but combined with the wind and thunderstorm that raged over the city, it was hard even making out familiar bodies amongst the night.

Louis awoke to the sound of distressed quacking. He pulled his head out from underneath his wings and stretched quickly, trying to figure out where the noises were coming from. He looked around, most of his flock were still asleep, some awake with their eyes open, but mostly careless to what was happening around them.

The wind blew hard into Louis’ face as he cautiously started waddling into the direction of the quacking. The longer it took for Louis to go, the more erratic and panicked the noises grew. Several tiny, high pitched squeaks morphed into the terrified, distinctly deeper voice.

"Hello?", Louis called softly out to the dark, then he tried a bit louder when nobody answered, "who’s there?"

His heart beat quickened when lightning brightened the scenery and he realized how far he had gone astray, but the deep quacking finally turned into something he could make out.

"Somebody help!", the deep voice called out, "we’re over here, please!"

Louis’ shook the rain out of his face and squinted his eyes, quickly approaching a slim duck-like shape in the dark.

“ _Louis!_ ”

Louis yelped out a quack when he recognized the familiar drake, soaked and quivering in front of him.

"Harry! Why are you  _out_  here?”, he yelled against another clap of thunder. The sudden surge of concern almost forcing him to flap out his wings to make himself bigger; a rightful protector.

At second blink he could make out not only the visibly distressed drake, but also six tiny baby ducks, huddled impossibly close to Harry. Their tiny squeaks drowning in the noise of the storm. Louis’ heart clenched painfully at the display.

"Louis.. I found them here all alone.. they are.. they were Gemmas," Harry spread his wings a bit more, trying to shelter them as best as he could, but it was futile. They were too many. Too many of Harrys sisters babies. He knew Gemma, of course. She was the most beautiful of all hens, next to Louis’ Mother Duck and was known for being extraordinarily caring for everyone at the pond. Once, she even shared her food with Louis. That was probably why Harry knew his name.

Louis leaped forward and huddled close to Harry, fawning out his right wing to put them over Harrys left one and protect the tiny yellow baby ducklings that immediately cuddled closer to Louis, too, seeking out his body heat. 

Frowning, Louis turned his beak to Harry and nudged the soft plumage of his head and whispered, “what happened to Gemma, where is she?”

Harry leaned into his touch and squeezed his eyes shut, slightly hanging his head, “She’s gone. She’s.. I heard a terrible noise, like a growl? She cried out for her babies and then..” Harrys voice wavered and he looked up, his black eyes shining with worry, “I don’t think she’ll come back, Lou..”

Something very sweet and very painful collided in Louis’ feathery chest at the use of the nickname, but then all of Harrys word sunk in. 

He croaked sadly, “I’m so sorry, Haz.”

"The babies.." Harry looked down upon the six yellow tiny ducklings who had evenly split up to huddle close to the body warmth of the two drakes, sound asleep.

"They’ll need someone to raise them," Louis said, surprised at how his voice sounded so sure.

Harry gazed at him, “I can’t do this alone,” his voice sounding already defeated. 

Louis pulled Harry closer under his wing and gave him a soft nuzzle with his beak, “You won’t have to,” and when Harry, _beautiful Harry_ , looked at him questioningly, almost afraid of what Louis would say next, he continued: “You have me.”

-

When, weeks later, the flock would be treated to the the odd sight of two proud drakes waddling through the park together, six small fluffy baby ducklings pitter patting between them and ask them what this was all about, well.. you’d hear one of them quack back happily: ” _It is what it is._ ”

\- end

**Author's Note:**

> listened to _The Weight Of Us_ by Sanders Bohlke while writing this - sob
> 
> story inspired by [this post](http://alittlebitmorelarry.tumblr.com/post/44767702835/ughpls-if-one-direction-were-animals-theyd-all)
> 
> i am [hoovesandfloorpaws](http://hoovesandfloorpaws.tumblr.com) on tumblr


End file.
